Want to Bet? A World Series Partnership
by JenRar
Summary: Kensi is shocked when Deeks tells her he's rooting for the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. They agree to bet on who will win each game and the series, and those bets will bring them closer than ever before. Densi all the way, with a little team interaction mixed in. ***ON HIATUS***


_A/N #1: I live in Kansas City, so I'm totally rooting for the Royals in the World Series. The idea for this story came to me Wednesday night, after the game, when I couldn't get to sleep. It'll be…well, however many chapters there are games in the series, plus a few extra to wrap it up. Enjoy, and see me at the bottom!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Whatta you mean, you're rooting for Kansas City?" Kensi nearly shouted, promptly closing her mouth and looking around furtively. "Deeks, you live in California, for crying out loud."

Deeks had to hold in his laughter at the look on his partner's face. She looked both bewildered and a bit angry, which amused him to no end. "Come on, Kens... The Royals haven't been to the World Series in twenty-nine years. Plus, it's not like I live up there. Cali's a big state. Now, if it were the Dodgers…"

If he were honest, he didn't really care much at all who won the championship title. Football, sure. Beach volleyball—especially the women—during the Olympics, he watched every match. But baseball kind of bored him—it was too slow-paced and boring…and there weren't any hot women in skimpy outfits, either. But he truly loved seeing his partner worked up…and worked up she was.

Kensi blew out a breath, ruffling the hair that had fallen out of the elastic band holding it out of her face. "Root for them if you want," she said with a shrug. "My Giants are gonna kick their ass."

Before he could stop himself, he smirked and said, "Wanna bet?"

Kensi opened her mouth to retort, but a sudden sharp whistle from above had them turning to look up at Eric, who stood on the landing on the stairs up to Ops.

"We've got a case," he said when Sam and Callen walked into the room from the gym, where they'd been sparring.

As Deeks stepped around his desk and joined Kensi at the base of the stairs, he nudged her with his hip. "So, partner… To bet, or not to bet?"

Kensi snort-laughed, making him grin. "Yeah, sure. Why not? Be prepared to lose."

"My mind when I win?" Deeks nodded. "I plan to."

She rolled her eyes as they stepped into Ops, joining the others in front of the big screen just as Nell clicked a button and turned to face the group.

"Navy Commander Eric Black, found by his wife this morning when she came home from a trip to see their daughter, who recently had their first grandchild. Shot three times in the chest and once in the head." She clicked another button, and a second man's picture popped up on the screen. "Lieutenant Commander John Stephens, also found dead in his home this morning when the postal worker called in to the police about a pool of blood leading from the kitchen into the entryway. Also shot four times—three times in the chest and once in the head."

All thoughts of baseball and bets left his head as Deeks concentrated on the images on the screen and Nell's words.

~*~DENSI~*~

Tuesday, almost a week after the Giants clenched the NLCS title to earn their way into the World Series, Deeks strolled into the Mission wearing a Royals baseball cap turned backwards and a bright blue and white jersey, grinning when Kensi continued to snipe about him looking silly. He knew he kind of did, but he loved that she obviously felt like she had to say something about it.

"You look like a man trying to be a teenage boy. And is that really appropriate for the office?"

"Aww, Kensalina… Don't tell me you're worried about me getting in trouble."

She scoffed. "I just don't wanna have to listen to Hetty complain when you're forced to borrow something from Wardrobe if we get called out to a case."

"It's gonna be a quiet day," Deeks said confidently, hoping he hadn't jinxed it.

"We'll see." She shrugged turning to put her bag down on her desk. "Morning, Callen. Sam."

"Morning, Kensi," Callen echoed and then looked at Deeks and raised an eyebrow. "Still planning on rooting for the losing team, I see."

"I think you're mistaking it," Deeks said with a grin. Turning, he pointed over his shoulder to the back of his head. "See the KC? That stands for Kansas City, which stands for winner."

"Mr. Deeks."

"Holy ninja sneak attack!" Deeks turned and grinned at Hetty. "Can you teach that trick to me sometime, Hetty?"

The diminutive woman gave a hint of a smile and then quite obviously looked him up and down, from his head to his torso. "I do hope you brought other attire, since the last time you wore something from Wardrobe, it came back with three holes that hadn't been there before."

"Go-bag's in my locker," he said easily.

She nodded once. "Very well. Ms. Blye, if you'd follow me…"

Kensi looked at Deeks, who shrugged, and then she slipped out from behind her desk and followed Hetty across the room.

"You really gonna bet Kensi on the games?" Sam asked.

Deeks chuckled. "I figure I have a fifty-fifty shot at winning, so why not?"

Sam shook his head. "She can be ruthless when it comes to things like this."

"I know," Deeks agreed. "That's okay. She won't bet anything I can't handle."

He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping that was the truth.

Callen cracked a smile. "Good luck with that…"

He didn't need luck. Win or lose, Deeks knew he'd have fun with it, and spending time with Kensi or doing things for her would never be a hardship.

"Nice outfit," Nell said as she walked by their desks. She smiled. "You'd fit right in at my parents' house tonight. They're all rooting for Kansas City too."

"What about you?" Deeks asked. "Been out of the Midwest too long? Are you a traitor and rooting for the Cali team?"

She smiled, reaching into her pocket for her phone. After pulling it out, she pressed a few buttons, and what sounded like Lorde's "Royals" started playing. But when the actual singer started singing, it wasn't Lorde, and it wasn't the real lyrics. A guy was singing about Kansas City and baseball.

Deeks laughed, reaching across his desk to high-five her. "Nice, short stuff."

Several minutes later, he looked up when he heard his partner's footsteps echo in front of his desk. Laughing, he motioned to Kensi's new look: Giants jersey and baseball cap, facing forward with her hair pulled through in a ponytail at the back. "Hetty had that in Wardrobe for you, I'm guessing?"

She snorted into a laugh again. "When I asked how, she just gave the infamous Hetty shrug and smiled mysteriously."

He nodded, grinning. "Well, this is good. Now we're all set for the game tonight."

~*~DENSI~*~

Kensi kicked at Deeks's front door with her foot since her hands were full of food. "Open up, Deeks," she called, waiting impatiently for her partner to come to the door. She'd been smelling the Chinese food the entire way to his place and had resisted sneaking a bite at any of the stoplights.

"Hold your horses," he grumbled when he finally opened the door, reaching out to grab half the food. "I was getting everything set up."

She wondered what he meant…until she stepped into the living room, and then her jaw dropped.

There was…stuff…everywhere. Blue-and-white Royals banners were hung along one wall, while the orange-and-black Giants ones hung on another. Everywhere she looked, it was a mix of the four colors, like a World Series store had thrown up all over Deeks's living room.

Just then, Monty came bounding up to her, nearly knocking her over, and she laughed, turning her attention to the dog, rather than the room. "Hey, boy. What's going on, huh? Did your daddy go a little overboard?" She gave him one last pet and then stood.

"It's awesome, right?" Deeks asked, stepping up behind her, close enough she could feel the heat from his body against her back and his breath puffing out against her hair.

"Yeah…awesome," she echoed, still a bit bewildered at the level he'd taken it all to.

"Wait'll you see what I got for dessert." He sounded so proud of himself, she couldn't help but grin.

"I could do dessert before dinner," she promptly said, huffing out a breath when he shook his head and held up the bag he was carrying.

"Eat it while it's hot, then dessert after we talk bet."

Agreeing with a single nod, Kensi sat and began unloading the food onto the coffee table, which had been cleared off except for a long blue-and-white-striped beach towel spread down the length of it, as well as a handful of envelopes, a couple of small notepads, and two pens, as well as a couple of bottles of their favorite beer. "What's all that?"

Deeks smirked. "You'll see. Eat first, talk later."

They turned on the latest episode of _America's Next Top Model_, which they were halfway through, as they ate, laughing at some of the insane things the models said and did until Kensi finally pushed her empty container away.

"Dessert?"

Laughing, Deeks said, "Bet first, then dessert."

"Fine," she agreed with a roll of her eyes. "But I haven't had anything sweet all day."

He scoffed. "I saw the Twinkie this afternoon, Sunshine."

"One Twinkie!" she protested.

Even though he rolled his eyes, Deeks smiled indulgently, but he didn't back down, instead reaching out for the notepads and pens. "Let's talk terms, Fern. One bet per game? Or one bet for the series overall?"

Ideas flew through her head as she tried to figure out the best strategy. "Why not both?"

His smile slowly curled his lip and he nodded. "I like how you think… Okay, then. Eight bets each—one for each game, one for the series as a whole. We write 'em down separately, put each one in an envelope, which gets sealed and labeled. After each game, whoever won will open that envelope and reveal their bet for that game."

She was impressed. He'd obviously put a lot of thought it all, from the decorations around the room to the way they'd handle the bets. "Sounds good. Of course, you can skip writing the bets if you want, since I'm gonna win four straight…"

"Mm, we'll see, Kensalina." He shook his head. "Now, write."

Kensi began scrawling quickly, tearing off one paper after another until she had seven of the eight bets written. The overall bet was giving her trouble. It had to be big. She tried to peek over at whatever Deeks was writing, but he clucked his tongue and hid behind cat pillow he picked up from between them.

Finally, inspiration struck, and she scribbled out the last bet, tearing off the paper and folding it before reaching for the stack of labeled envelopes. She began sorting her bets into the corresponding envelopes and then passed them over to her partner, who added his and then pulled the strip from each one, sealing them.

"Dessert now?" Kensi asked, putting a hopeful note in her voice.

Deeks laughed, tossing the envelopes to the table and reaching over to the side table for a small white box. Handing it to her, he sat back, relaxing as she pulled open the top of the box.

Six cupcakes sat inside—three with blue, glittery-looking frosting and KC written in white on top; three with a mound of orange frosting, a solid chocolate flower with SF in orange written on it balanced on top.

"Where in the world did you get these?" she asked with a laugh.

"Nell." He grinned, reaching in for one of the blue-and-white cupcakes. "I told her what I wanted, and she found the right place, so I called a couple of days ago and ordered them."

"They're great," she said around a mouthful of cake, although it came out garbled because she'd bitten off almost half the cupcake in one bite.

Once they'd eaten a cupcake—or two in her case—Deeks gathered up the dinner trash and took it into the kitchen as Kensi got more comfortable on the couch.

"Another beer?" he called, reaching into the fridge.

"Yeah, please."

By the time the National Anthem was sung—they agreed that Trisha Yearwood had done a fantastic job—they were settled back on the couch, close enough that they were touching from shoulder to feet. Kensi could feel his fingers brush hers, but neither actually reached for the other. They were still at a limbo in their "thing," although they spent almost every night together. But she was hyper-aware of his body close to hers, and it had her blood singing through her veins.

~*~DENSI~*~

"Damn," Deeks hissed, making Kensi grin. "That was a rude awakening. Come on! They won eight straight games before this. What the heck just happened?"

"I schooled you," Kensi chortled, reaching out for the envelope labeled "Game 1." Sliding a finger under the edge of the flap, she wagged an eyebrow. "Let's see what you owe me."

Clearing her throat, she picked out her bet, opened the paper, and read, "You must wash my car on the day of my choosing, wearing an outfit of my choosing."

He laughed, shaking his head. "I guess I can't hope for shorts and a T-shirt, hmm?"

She grinned. "We'll see… I have a few ideas."

In truth, a pair of skimpy shorts and nothing else sounded about perfect to her, but she'd never admit that to him. She'd thought about his wetsuit, but that wouldn't bother him in the slightest, since he wore that all the time to surf. She had time to come up with an outfit. According to the weather forecast, it would be a little chilly for it this coming weekend, but the one after that would be perfect.

As they finished cleaning up the snack food they'd eaten throughout the game, Kensi smiled and looked over at Deeks. "That was fun."

"For you," he muttered, glaring at the TV before grinning her way.

"Aww, poor bab—Deeks!"

He picked her up and dropped her to the couch, but she kept her grip on him, and he stumbled, falling down to land right on top of her.

"_Oof_," she grunted, acting like it had hurt more than it had, when she really wanted to laugh at the comical expression on his face. "If you wanted me in this position, all you had to do was say something," she teased, but she quickly backpedaled when his eyes heated and his gaze darted to her lips. "I mean…not that…we can't…I mean…"

Thankfully, he let her off the hook, grinning as he slowly peeled himself off her. "Right. You just can't handle all this," he said, motioning along his body once he was standing. "Don't try to deny it, Fern."

She did her best to ignore the sadness in his eyes as he tried to laugh off her reaction. They had to talk about it—Kensi knew that—but she wasn't ready, and she knew her partner wouldn't push. So she did what she did best. She joked back.

"I can't," she dead-panned, shaking her head. "You're too much man for me."

The haunted look was gone from his eyes when he tilted his head back and laughed, and for now, at least, they were back to normal.

When she stifled a yawn, he turned her to the hallway. "I'll finish cleaning up. If you wanna stay, there's a clean towel in the bathroom."

Of course she was gonna stay. Going home and sleeping without him would feel…weird, as strange as that sounded to admit.

"Thanks," she said quietly, looking back at him.

He nodded and then gave her a gentle shove toward the hall. "Anytime, Kens."

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><p><em>AN #2: I hope you enjoyed chapter 1! The story is going to follow the series, so whoever wins in real life will win in the story. The resolution to each bet won't happen concurrently, since the games will run back to back several times and they can't exactly just drop everything to wash cars and…whatever else they ending up betting. ;) And I can't promise to get these out at a regular time. This chapter came fairly easily, but not all of them will, especially since I'm going to try to get them to talk and advance their "thing." But they will come, I promise._

_Okay, so, Kensi won the first bet, and those of you who are following the World Series in real life know who won the second… We'll see what that bet is next chapter. ;) For now, leave me some love. I'd love to know what you thought and what you hope to see them betting in future chapters! ~ Jen_


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